Four scariest words from a player

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by WeekendRef
OK now that you have re-read it please tell me where it says my comment bit me in the butt ?

Sure. Right here: "He then tells me that I am wrong and that he can run the baseline and I really don't know the rules". You then went on to say that the only reason you didn't T him is that you were "shocked". That is called biting you in the butt. Player/coach makes a comment, ref makes a smart*** comment, player/coach responds with something that merits a T. That is called biting you in the butt. And that's what happened in your sitch.

Now, I totally understand that you originally thought that the player was kidding around. That doesn't justify your comment. If you give a straight answer the first time ("Afraid not. Spot throw-in here."), then either (a) you don't get the over-the-top reply or (b) you get the reply but with the knowledge that you didn't bring it on yourself.

my comments had absolutely no bearing on my relationship with this player nor did it make the situation worse .

One more thing we disagree on, I guess.

You used a poor analogy and I pointed that out in so many words.

Again, I think the analogy was pretty good. But I can see that you're very eager not to be wrong, so I won't try to explain it again.

I would have most likely T'd him if this was a High School kid saying this to me .

And there it is. Your comment elicited a response that was T-worthy. So what have we learned? Keep those comments on the forum and out of your game. (Which was the point of my analogy.)